Forsythe Pendleton Jones IV
by imnotcreativeenough
Summary: Right when Betty Cooper, who had just began going by Elizabeth, had gotten out of Riverdale, away from her father and away from the crime and murder and the gangs, she got pulled back in. One night of reunion with Jughead Jones. That one night meant they were stuck together. -slight AU for age adjustment; college age, not high school. no s3 spoilers
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Only cannon that I am changing: they're all sophomores in COLLEGE. Not high school. That would make them all roughly 19-20 years old.**

 **I don't mean to say this is set four years from the second series, just that I am writing that all of the characters are of college age. Season Two was set during their Senior year of high school and their freshman year of college is a mystery we may unfold as we go. This story begins the summer before they return to their sophomore years of college.**

 **Just pretend they're all a bunch of college aged kids, that's what I (and apparently the writers of Riverdale) chose to do.**

* * *

She didn't tell him the first time she got sick. Or the second, or third. Jughead Jones wasn't the person she called when things went wrong, hadn't been for nearly a year. And when she had her face next to a porcelain bowl, spilling the contents of her stomach, the first person she thought to call wasn't the one she'd forced herself to forget about. Instead she went through the list of potential allies, or at the very least, someone to run an errand for her. Veronica wasn't in town, which was unsurprising considering it wasn't a major holiday. The four former friends tried to make it a point to regroup that summer, and yet every plan they made seemed to fall through, usually on Veronica's end. She was a nineteen year old tycoon, Archie was attempting to "tour" with his college band, and Betty had avoided the town most of the summer. She hadn't crossed paths with Jughead once since she left for college.

Except, of course; for one night, the night she returned to Riverdale.

She'd driven all the way home from the University of Michigan, leaving right after her last exam. She had been dreaming of a milkshake during those last few hours of driving, and thanking God that Pop Tate kept the diner open twenty four hours. Fourteen hours worth of driving will do that to you. By the time she pulled in, the clock had just brushed midnight, and the place was practically empty.

He was sitting in the second booth to the left, just like they always had. Back when the four of them communicated more than congratulating Archie on a good game at school, or Veronica sending "streaks" Snapchats when she first woke up (whatever time zone she happened to be in.) Since then he claimed the booth alone, on nights when he needed a break from the Serpents. He saw her as soon as she walked in, looking up at the sound of the bell out of instinct. Her hair was down, longer than it used to be, with two little braids on the top of her head like a crown.

They stared at each other for a long moment before speaking. "Betty Cooper," he finally said.

* * *

Cheryl arrived at her house in the middle of the night, a plastic CVS bag in hand. She waited patiently outside Betty's bathroom, looking up when the door opened.

"Why three of them?"

"In case one is wrong," Cheryl said, smoothing out her black mini skirt. "So...when are we calling our man of the hour?"

"Ask me in three minutes."

And so they waited, in tense silence and perched on the edge of her childhood bed, until they had six blue lines staring back at them.

* * *

She knew it was a mistake from the moment that it happened. As much as she wanted to lie there in his arms, listening to him snore and feeling the heat of his skin against her cheek, she couldn't forget all the reasons they parted ways in the first place.

She could never live in Riverdale. Not after what her father had done. The last semester of her senior year had been absolute hell, nothing more than a harrowing countdown until she could leave this town and never look back. She was a pariah, both Betty and her mother. And when she caught a Northside freshman after breaking into her home, saying he "just wanted to know where the Black Hood lived," it was clear the Cooper family no longer had a place in the small, sleepy town that wasn't so sleepy anymore. She decided to pick the furthest University that had accepted her, packed up her things, and vowed she would never live in this town again.

And instantly, what Jughead feared from the start became all too real. He was tied to the Southside by the Serpents; he was their king. And while the gang had grown to accept her, she was never going to be safe in Riverdale as a whole. In lieu of taking out the rage the town felt for her father on him, they turned it onto her and her mother. And, when her mother opted to live with Polly upstate, the backlash rested solely on her.

Her friends did their best to shield her from the blows, but she came to the conclusion they all had seen coming. She couldn't live here. They waited for the taunting to die down, but it never did. Even now, a year after the fact, she needed an escort just to go to the grocery store without someone confronting her. After all, she was the daughter of the town serial killer.

And so their relationship was doomed, just as Romeo and Juliet's. He could never leave, she could never come back.

* * *

In one instant, her kitchen went from calm and quiet to an all out storm.

The side door to the house, empty but for her, flew open without warning. Jughead shoved himself into the room followed closely by an alarmed Archie. He looked over at Betty, wide eyed and mouth opened, then back to Jughead, trying to calm down his friend.

"When were you going to tell me?"

Her mouth turned to sandpaper.

"Why the _hell_ did I have to hear about this from _Archie_?" he shouting, each word growing louder than the last.

She had never seen Jughead this angry before; at least, never directed at her. He had never yelled at her. He rarely yelled at anyone for that matter, opting instead for sardonic humor and smart ass comments. But now there was no holding back, no well thought out dialogue or banter, just cold and unbridled anger, filling up the room and threatening to engulf her.

"Or is it not even mine?" he taunted, furiously. They all knew it was a ridiculous question and the mirrored look of anger and insult she gave him said as much.

Archie stepped between the two, yet again attempting to quell his friend.

She never should have told Archie; at least, not before Jughead. But with her current inability to even visit the grocery store without getting stared at, or threatened, or ridiculed, he was the one currently taking her debit card and picking up groceries while she was in Riverdale. And she had no choice but to explain to him why he was picking up prenatal vitamins.

Archie turned, knocking the pot on the stove in the process. In all of the turmoil, she had left the handle sticking out, and he hadn't noticed while he stepped over to her and suddenly she was bathed in near boiling water as her attempt at dinner crashed to the floor. She jumped back instantly, crying out in pain, a strange but effective slap in the face to Jughead. He switched from hissing and seething to wetting washcloths in cool water; funny, he still knew exactly where they were kept. He moved to press it into her thigh where she was burned, but she pushed past both Archie and Jughead and hurried up the stairs, desperate to be away from them both.

She'd known he would find out eventually. He was the last person for her to tell, and Cheryl wouldn't be able to hide it forever, not when they saw each other daily. But something held her back every time she tried. There was no way of spinning this into a good situation; she loved Jughead, and she knew he still loved her, but they had ran their course and led two separate lives now. They were barely out of high school. Neither had any money (that wasn't completely true; she had her Blossom inheritance, but it would just be enough for her four years at U of M after scholarships) and most of all, there was no way for them to actually be together.

So, day by day she pretended the problem didn't exist; that Jughead didn't exist.

* * *

He had gotten a girl pregnant. Literally, the _only_ _thing_ he wasn't supposed to do, and actually intended on not doing. He was the leader of a gang, for Christ's sake. The only thing his father ever beat into his head was _no glove, no love_. It was something he passed on Sweet Pea after he started shacking up the Southside girls. He actually had to explain to the man-boy that when they say _glove_ , they don't mean _gloves_ , and that more than one at a time can break.

Jughead Jones, who had given the safe sex talk to at least half a dozen young Serpents, had gotten a girl pregnant.

Betty had locked herself inside her bathroom. Or, more accurately, had locked him out. He wanted to hold her, comfort her, to do all the things he knew he was supposed to, and should of done as soon as he found out. He could hear her crying, and his chest physically hurt. That was his fault. He did that. He stormed in here the moment Archie told him-why did their houses have to be so close-and blew before his head could catch up with him. How could he scream at her like that, given everything she was going through?

At the same time, how could she not tell him? Was she ever going to tell him? Their night together had been in the beginning of the summer...she was at least three months pregnant at this point. Was that how it worked? Do you start counting after conception, or after you find out?

Shit, he was going to be a father and he didn't even understand _how_.

"Betty?" he tried to speak through the door. Softy, calmly, the exact opposite of earlier. "Archie left. It's just you and I."

The words used to be so comforting, so hopeful. _It's just you and I now._ Now he didn't even know where they stood with one another. Betty didn't have a place inside his head the way she used to, nor he with her. Before, it was almost like he knew what she was thinking, even what she was going to say before she said it. Now, she was an enigma, yet again.

"Is your leg okay?" he tried again. It couldn't have been that bad of a burn, though it was on her bare skin. She was wearing those track shorts he liked; they were short and soft and she had nice legs.

"Betty please...please let me in. At least talk to me. I'm sorry I got mad before I just…" he trailed off. "I don't understand."

Her sobs could still be heard through the door, but they had gotten weaker. That was an improvement, maybe. He just wanted to hold her. He remembered how to comfort the girl who'd been his a year ago. Was it the same? Did she still press in closer when he placed his hand on the back of her neck? Was she still comforted when he kissed the top of her head?

What the hell were they going to do? How were they supposed to raise a kid? Who knows, maybe more twins, God knows her family had enough of them.

He heard her twist the lock without opening the door, and decided that was good enough a cue as any.

* * *

She was torn apart by two different feelings. On one hand, she want to yell right back at him. He was the one who ignored her calls after their night together, and he was the one who never tried to talk to her again. She was practically a booty call, a one night stand.

Except there was more to it than that and she knew it. She knew the lengths Jug would go to protect her, even shutting her out because they both knew their relationship was doomed. No sense pretending otherwise or trying to drag out the pain, something they both agreed when they parted ways. And if she really wanted to get ahold of him, she could have, she gave up pretty easily.

"What don't you understand?" she asked. Her voice didn't sound like her voice anymore.

"Why didn't you tell me, Betty?" he looked over at her from his seat on the floor.

She opened her mouth to explain that she really didn't know but all that came out were more tears. Almost instantly he drew her into his chest, his hand resting at the nape of her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her across his lap and he held her while she cried, worse than before.

* * *

He murmured to her everything he could think of. Telling her it was going to be okay, that he was there for her, that they'd get through this together. But he wasn't sure he even believed any of it. He couldn't do much to help unless she stayed in Riverdale, and they both knew the likelihood of that. Jughead lived on favors and goodwill he had earned within the community. He had no money. He couldn't start over in a new place. He had no skills, he had no references. He was a gang leader, and the gang wouldn't be coming with him.

Right when Betty Cooper, who had just began going by Elizabeth, had gotten out of Riverdale, away from her father and away from the crime and murder and the gangs, she got pulled back in. One night of reunion with Jughead Jones. That one night meant they were stuck together.

* * *

 **Have a nice day! Thank you for reading**


	2. Chapter 2

**let's chat!**

 **when i started writing this fic i had just finished season two on netflix, was unaware when season three was coming out. so, i didn't expect to incorporate or consider it as cannon in this fic, now i kinda want to...loosely. meaning i might borrow scenes and dialogue but incorporate it differently. i'll make sure to keep the season three bits ambiguous enough so people who haven't seen the episode won't be able to pick up any spoilers, i know a lot of people are waiting to see season three until it's out on netflix; that said, the CW is streaming it for free!**

 **that was all, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

In lieu of the Whyte Wyrm, the Serpents had migrated to the Silver Pig, Veronica's speakeasy she created under Pop's. It wasn't quite the same, given this establishment was still a working bar and not just for the Serpents, but they were adjusting. It some ways it did help their reputation-or at least, it felt like it did. Instead of clustering to one side and getting glared at by the bartender, they've started migrating and interacting with more people in the town. And when drunk men got too rowdy, it was usually a few Serpents who "escorted" them out, something that scored them free drinks from time to time.

Jughead made it a point, just as his father had, to improve the reputation of the Serpents. They weren't the drug dealing, murderous gang people were so inclined to picture, especially on the Northside. Cheryl was helpful in that regard. She was actually pretty likable when she was stable, and she loved to socialize, especially with Toni by her side. Within the Pig the Serpents were both patrons and peacekeepers, when they needed to be. He really was proud of his people, especially since this behavior wasn't new, only the fact that people saw it. In many ways they graduated from low class street rats to semi respectful biker gang. When the sheriffs were called to the bar, they didn't go straight to the Serpents anymore; Sheriff Keller had even thanked them once for helping to keep the peace. Were they prim and proper ladies and gentleman, hell no, but they were respectful when it was called for.

Red sat down beside him at the bar, ordering his usual. The oldest active Serpent, and one of his father's closest friends, the man kept an eye on Jug when he needed it. He was, after all, nineteen and living alone. Which wasn't uncommon for members of the gang-for many, lack of family is what led them to the Serpents in the first place-but Jug had a different circumstance now that separated him from the pack.

"How's your girl doing?"

It wasn't the first question or jeer he received about Betty, and he was getting sick of talking about it. "She's fine."

"They know the due date yet?"

He downed the rest of his drink. "How should I know?"

"Because you are the _father,_ " he explained to the boy, like it should've been obvious.

"Look, I'm gonna tell you the same thing I have told every person in this damn bar who at one point of another. I offered to help her, I tried to help her, _she doesn't want my help._ It is not my prob-"

Red slapped the back of his head so fast, he didn't finish his sentence. He hopped off the bar stool, incredulous, while most of the bar passed their attention to the two.

"Jughead, be a man. Just because she hurt your _feelings_ doesn't mean you get to bail out. She's the mother of your child, and as scared shitless as you are, she has to go through it while growing a fucking _baby._ She doesn't get to come drink at the bar, she doesn't get to walk away. And neither should you; you're supposed to be a leader, you're supposed to be a role model. Would you want every dad here walking out on their kids? Is that what you want? What would _your_ dad say?"

"I can't leave Riverdale, and she refuses to stay."

"You'll figure it out. But your not going to do it getting drunk in this bar, _again,_ pretending that she isn't there."

"Why not?" he asked, the alcohol well in his system. "I'm doing what she did. The only reason I even found out was from her neighbor. She knew for _months_ and she never told me"

"Hey that isn't fair," Cheryl set down her pool stick, coming towards them. Jughead was suddenly aware of the audience they had obtained. "I was there when Betty took the test. She didn't know much sooner than you, and Archie never should have said anything."

Jughead ran his hands over his face, frustrated at the sudden attack. He knew the Serpents didn't approve of the way he was handling the situation. They all saw him drink himself to sleep every night, either here or in his trailer. They all knew the two were having problems, the same way they knew it was his kid in the first place. He didn't need to tell them, some things were just obvious.

"You could do a lot worse for yourself, kid. Remember that."

* * *

He arrived at her house with a white flag in the form of a gallon of orange juice; according to Cheryl, she won't stop drinking it. Cravings and hormones and all that. Besides, if he was bringing something she needed, he was helping her, whether she liked it or not.

She still slept in the same room as she always did. Archie, who had tried several times to trick the future parents into talking, happily lent Jughead a ladder to climb to her bedroom window, just as they had when they were teenagers. Which, they technically still were; something he had tried to ignore ever since he found out they were going to be parents. It was much easier to pretend that turning eighteen last year made them _official adults,_ and they were old souls now.

Alice Cooper had made it clear she wouldn't be returning to Riverdale and didn't care what happened to the house; nonetheless, Betty kept it the same. At least, as far as he could tell from his stalker-window view. Her bed was in the same place it had been, and he could see her flat on top of the blankets while he took one last breath.

Why was this so difficult? It was Betty. The girl who knew him better than anyone, who he knew better than anyone. They needed to talk to each other, probably _quite a lot_ at this point. Given the whole, expectant parent thing. But he was rooted to his perch on the ladder like stone, unable to initiate the conversation he had been dreading for weeks. He kept hoping that somehow this would go away, and that they just _wouldn't_ have to deal with this. But he and Betty knew where they both stood with that long before they even started having sex; that wasn't an option for her. He wasn't sure how he felt about it either. They needed to talk about this. There wasn't anything he would rather do less.

 _Grow a fucking pair,_ he scolded himself, _before she catches you spying on her._

She jumped about two feet when he tapped on the window.

* * *

Her stomach lurched as she pushed up the glass.

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked, returning to her position from moments before. That small amount of moment made her want to hurl; the nausea had been awful lately.

"Well...the weather has been nice today-"

She closed her eyes, folding her hands across her stomach and drowning out his sarcasm she suddenly found much less charming.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"I feel like I'm gonna puke."

He left the room, returning shortly after with a glass of cold water and an ice pack wrapped in a towel, the latter of which he placed under her neck.

"Jellybean always used to get sick after car rides, my mom would wrap something from the freezer in a towel and slide it under her neck. Do you want ginger ale, or toast-"

"No, do not talk about food," she groaned. "I'm fine, I just need to lie on my back for a while."

"Isn't that what got us here in the first place?"

The middle finger of her right hand rose ever so slightly, and she could hear his chuckle.

"So what other symptoms have you been getting?" he asked, settling on the ground beside her bed. She was grateful he didn't try to sit _on_ the mattress; she didn't think she could stomach the motion.

"Just the morning sickness."

"You have morning sickness at eight at night?"

"You can get morning sickness any time of day Jug, it's just more common in the morning," she explained, slightly annoyed he didn't understand something so basic. Well, basic to her at least; she supposed the general pool of nineteen year old boys didn't bother learning much about pregnancy.

"How far are you?"

"Can't you do the math?" she snapped at him, then recanted. "I'm twelve weeks along."

"Have you seen a doctor yet?"

"Obviously," she said. She was trying to veil the hormonal bitchiness, but the unexpected socialization was making her irritable. She just wanted to lie down and not throw up and was about to tell him as much when he spoke up.

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

That wasn't exactly what she wanted. She wasn't even sure she knew what she _did_ want, but she knew she didn't want him to leave. In her confused, angry, nauseous state, she said nothing rather that begin to attempt to explain what she was thinking for a long while, until finally she told him, "you talk, not me."

* * *

Betty fell asleep within the hour. Even he grew bored with his ramblings about the Serpents and their newfound living situation, following the fall of Sunnyside Trailer Park. Most of them, Jughead included, currently lived on the Thornhill grounds with Cheryl's blessing; all but two trailers were ruined in the riots by the Ghoulies, leaving most of the gang displaced and left to find camp among the large estate. It was far from ideal, or permanent, but for the time being it was functional.

Betty couldn't keep living here alone. Betty couldn't keep living here, in general; the burn marks on her lawn were still visible, even after Fred Andrews did his best to trim and water the grass since the event occurred. The word _sinner_ had been written in lawn with kerosene and set ablaze during the night. Sheriff Minetta said it would be impossible to prove who had done it since, in his words, "the whole town had a motive."

The irony was lost on no one, least of all Betty, the fact that the Coopers were likely the most (publicly known, at least) sinful family in Riverdale, even excluding Hal Cooper's murderous rampage. Since the discovery that he had been the Black Hood all along, the rumors and gossip of the once perfect Cooper family were quick to circulate.

Polly Cooper had premarital sex with her second cousin Jason, and gave birth to incestuous twins.

Hal Cooper had an affair with Penelope Blossom, his cousin's widow.

Alice Cooper had a reputable crime history from her time in a gang.

And then there was Betty Cooper. Just like her mother, she became a member of a gang before even leaving high school; just after she found out about her father's sins. Like her sister, she engaged in premarital sex and got pregnant out of wedlock.

Those were just the rumors that were true, not that anyone would know the difference. There were rumors that Alice Cooper was Jughead's real mother, and that he and Betty were half siblings. There were rumors that Alice and FP were having an affair while she was still married to Hal; technically, Alice and Hal _were_ still married, another sticking point for many people.

It was likely the fact that the Coopers had been so revered within the town that made the revelation so shocking, and made the backlash so sticking. They were the perfect family next door. Two sweet, beautiful, honor roll daughters. Two working class adults, married and in business together; how sweet. Sure, there had been talk after an unfortunate sleepover that Alice coerced a doctor into prescribing Betty with Ritalin, but that aside there wasn't much said about the simple suburban household.

Until now at least.

* * *

Betty woke up to Jughead sleeping beside her. He had grabbed a blanket from the couch downstairs and draped it across from them, and was now snoring softly on the pillow beside her. His body was turned towards hers, his breath tickling her hair. At first she was angry and the audacity of him crawling into bed with her, but told herself she was being irrational because of the damn hormones. Besides, a small part of her liked the domestic feel of Jughead sleeping beside her, especially now.

There wasn't a day that went by since Cheryl arrived with the bag from CVS that she didn't imagine what this whole mess would be like in an ideal world. Not because she thought it was possible, but because it was a nice thing to picture while she fell asleep; she'd lie there and for a minute or two, or often times more, imagine Jughead across from her, not unlike he was now. Except in her imagination, his arm was snaked under her neck with another draped across her side, with a hand cupping her belly. In her imagination, they could be the suburban household her family pretended to be. They could love each other, and love the life they created together. They could raise their child to be the best at _everything_ , and shut up all of the jeers about their unplanned pregnancy and how they'd ruin their kid.

She understood her mother's desire to keep up appearances so much better now.

She wiggled herself closer to Jughead, burying her face into his body. This action woke him-he never was a heavy sleeper-and he readjusted himself, unsure.

"Are you spending the night?" she questioned into her

"Do you want me to?"

Yet again she resented her answer. She didn't want to say _yes,_ but also didn't want him to leave. So instead she pressed her palm into his shoulder, rocking him onto his back and resting her cheek on his shoulder.

If a million impossible things were to happen, and if they did get together again...would it be because they loved each other? Or would Jughead just be doing the _right thing?_ Would Betty just be keeping up appearances? That was the real question she struggled with. Would they be together at this moment if she wasn't pregnant? The thing that killed her was that she knew they wouldn't be.

"If I hadn't gotten pregnant, would we have ever gotten back together?" she asked aloud, not even sure if Jug was awake.

"Probably not."

Her heart sank, until he started speaking again.

"So maybe it's a sign."

"You don't believe in God."

"You do."

They fell asleep while Betty pondered his last sentence. Did she still believe in God, in Heaven? Believing in Heaven meant she had to believe in Hell, and she wasn't sure which she was going to be sent to after everything she had done.

* * *

 **hope you guys don't mind the shorter chapter length, i'm liking the 2,500ish words for this story. i usually don't stress word lengths like that, i just stop chapters when i've finished what i needed to accomplish in the story, at the same time these are much shorter than i'm used to, and of course everything looks shorter on fanfiction/net. dunno, lemme know what you think!**

 **thank you for reading!**


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